Becoming the Wizard
by harmonyliveson
Summary: Following Dumbledore's death, Harry has a couple of enlightening conversations, discovers an unknown family link to the Flamels and creates an alliance that could win the war. There will be Ron, Ginny and Molly bashing. It will be naive Dumbledore only.
1. A chat

Harry Potter was staring out of his dorm window out over the Great Lake trying to make sense of his life. Dumbledore was dead and he was now responsible for finding the remaining horcruxes and then he had kill Voldemort. He didn't know what he needed to do, but he knew that he needed to speak to someone. Normally, Hermione would have been his choice, but he didn't know if he could trust her anymore the way he used to. That left only one other person. He picked up the map and his cloak and made his way out of the Gryffindor tower towards the classroom he knew she would be in. He knocked on the door and waited for the shaky permission to enter. He walked in and saw an unfamiliar sight: Minerva McGonagall was crying, she had puffy red eyes and tear stains down her cheeks. He felt awkward seeing her so broken and fragile, noticing he had her attention, he started to speak. He explained of Dumbledore's plan to hunt down the horcruxes, he told her of the prophecy, he mentioned his inability to trust his best friends and is plan to leave school to finish what Dumbledore had started. Cradling her cup of tea, Professor McGonagall replied.

'Harry, the first thing you must understand is that we are not sure if Hogwarts is going to re-open next year. Hogwarts, according to the Minister, will open for sure if you come back and accept the Head Boy position. That badge would have been yours anyway as should have the prefect's position, but anyway. I would lie it if you came back for a number of reasons, but the main reason is that you could use the Library's forbidden section freely and I would give you total freedom of movements as long as I have a note saying where you have gone.'

'I know this sounds like I am pandering to your whims and I most likely am, but I believe in you and I trust you. You have never ever broken the rules for a selfish reason; it was always to help someone. So please accept this and I'll help as much as you need. Also, I think you should bring Remus and Tonks in for this as Remus has a Dark Arts Mastery and Tonks is actually an unspeakable. Tonks can use her resources to find a way to destroy the horcruxes, while Remus can help research locations as well as potential items used. He has the added benefit of being completely au fait with the muggle world so he can also look up stuff that way.'

Harry sat back and thought about it. It made sense, it all made sense and that scared him. The more he thought about it, though, the more it seemed it was the best solution. It was a plan and he needed a plan. He also needed to fund these resources.

'You are absolutely right Professor. I accept all of this is necessary and I will be back next year. Also, can you get someone to accompany me to Diagon Alley, I need to go to Gringotts. I have to find out what resources I have as well as needing to know exactly what money I have.'

After a brief discussion, Harry waited whilst Minerva (as he should now call her) firecalled someone. Scant moments later, Remus stepped out of the floo and hugged Harry. Harry explained he needed to get to Gringotts to sort out finances as well as finding somewhere to live for the summer after his birthday.

Harry and Remus made their way to the first available teller, fortunately, it was a goblin that Harry recognised.

'Hello Mr Griphook, I was wondering if you could help me with finding out about what assets I won as well as what my inheritances are.'

The goblin looked a bit shocked but responded quickly.

'Of course Mr Potter, if you would like to follow me, I will lead to Ragnok, who can help you.'

Remus' eyes went wide when he heard Ragnok's name, but said nothing as they made their way to the back of the hall towards an ornate door. Griphook knocked on the door and waited for the sign to enter. Harry and Remus entered a large room with a big desk and what could only be described as a royal goblin sitting behind. He was the same size as all the others, however, the aura of the goblin was different and he wore a thick and intricate chain around his neck. He came round the desk and made his way towards the humans. Harry moved forward and held his hand out to greet him. This made Ragnok pause in is step very briefly before he took the hand and shook it.

'Mr Potter, it is an honour for this long overdue visit. Please sit down.'

'Erm.. what do you mean overdue, Mr Ragnok? And please, just call me Harry.'

As Harry and Remus sat, Ragnok picked up a telephone receiver and gave some instructions in goblin-tongue. He then replaced the receiver and steepled his fingers under his chin and explained.

'Mr Pot… Harry, being the heir to the Potter family, you were eligible for emancipation when you turned 14, and last year, the will and testament of Mr Black also allowed for this emancipation. And please, allow me the same courtesy, it's just Ragnok.'

'I… I knew nothing of this, I've never received anything about emancipation or anything at all from Gringotts as it happens. I'd love to be emancipated, but there are things I must first discuss. I need to know the state of my finances, I also need to add some people to my account, I need a way to access money in the muggle world and finally, I need to find somewhere to live. Once all that is done, then I will emancipate myself.'

'Very well, Harry. All the information will be here in ten minutes, but first let me tell you that with the combined fortunes of the Potter and Black families, you are Gringotts' largest depositor. You also have around ten properties to choose from all around the world and we can easily provide cash and credit cards for the muggle world.'

'Thanks Ragnok, there is another issue I wish to discuss with you: Voldemort. Where do you stand on this?'

'Straight to the point; we know of the promises he makes to the other magical beings, but we do not trust him. Furthermore, he is bad for the economy. The reason we have become so wealthy as well as the Potters, is that we include the muggle world in our transactions, but the purebloods don't. They limit themselves purely to the magical world. It works well enough but they lack to the foresight to explore the potential of the stock markets around the world. Why do you ask?'

'I need help to get rid of him. It has been prophesised that only I can defeat him, but there are some obstacles to this: Horcruxes. By your faces, Ragnok and Remus, I see that you both know what they are. Two have been destroyed, which means that another 5 are missing. I need those destroyed before I can kill him for good this time.'

Remus sat back, his mind spinning with the knowledge that Voldemort had done all this, but also that Harry was the only one who could kill him. Ragnok, on the other hand, was looking at Harry with something akin to respect. Here was the chosen one asking goblins to help kill Voldemort.

'Harry, you must excuse my surprise; it is not often that a wizard asks a goblin for help. In answer to your question, we know what horcruxes are and we will help you. I'm not sure what the ministry will say to this, but…'

'Let me handle the ministry, they want to get in my good books, so I'll take care of them. I had been planning on asking Remus to help research locations and items used for the horcruxes and he knows the muggle world as well as the magical world. I trust him and I trust you. I trust you to take of my finances and you have never stolen from me, so why can't I trust you with this?'

'I'll be going back to Hogwarts next year as Head Boy, I will have the freedom to come and go as much as I need to take care of these horcruxes, I would like to take care of each one personally. I've seen the damage they can do and I don't want anyone to get hurt doing it.'

A knock interrupted the conversation and Griphook entered with a couple of folders and put them on the desk and left the office again. Ragnok looked at the folder and a frown came over his face. He picked up the receiver again and barked some instructions, then hung up.

'Harry, there is a letter on the front of the folder from your parents asking that a family test be taken for you. It appears that your mother was not related to her sister at all. She was adopted, she believes she comes from a magical family, but she doesn't know which one. We can do this test by taking a few drops of blood and our procedure will take five minutes to ascertain which family she came from.'

'By all means go ahead.'

A female goblin entered the room and made her way to Harry, she pricked his finger and dropped the blood in a runic basin. She then left.

'This basin will print off a sheet of paper with the family names you are related to and whether or not you are a direct heir.'

The next five minutes were spent muddling their way through the finances of the Potter and Black families. It was decided that all the properties would be put under the goblin version of the Fidelius Charm with Remus as the secret-keeper. The goblin version could be broken by humans so it was completely impenetrable. The Potter finances were very simple, but the Black family was a bit more complicated. Harry simplified it by asking to combine all the Black vaults into one, which would be scoured for dark artefacts by a goblin team of curse-breakers. The upside of combining everything is that it emptied the vaults belonging to Bellatrix and Narcissa. Harry added Remus, Tonks and Minerva as names of people who could access the vaults. Ragnok explained that a simple written agreement from Harry would allow the same privilege. Harry quickly obliged. Ragnok went over to the basin and picked up the list and promptly went pale. He handed it over to Harry who also went pale while Remus just whistled.

'Well pup, through James, you are the direct heir of Gryffindor and through Lily, you are related to the Flamels. Not bad at all. It also seems that magic has accepted you as being the heir of Slytherin.'

Suddenly, Harry started laughing hysterically and Remus recognised what was happening. James did the same thing and requested a calming draught be brought to him. Once Harry took it, he calmed down and stopped laughing.

'Thanks Remus, I needed that. Sorry Ragnok, just emotions overwhelmed me. Well, I know the Flamels are dead, so…'

'Harry, Nicholas and Perenelle are alive and well. Dumbledore never destroyed the stone and gave it back to them conceding that now that everyone thought it was destroyed, no-one would bother them. Would you like to meet them?'

Harry was numb, he could only nod. He felt a hand settle on his shoulder and turned to see Remus looking at him with tears in his eyes.

'Well Pup, you get to meet your family at last.'

Harry could only nod and buried his face in Remus' chest while muttering about him being family through love if not blood. This made the tears Remus had been holding fall finally. This was the scene that greeted the Flamels as they walked through the door; Harry look up and gasped seeing identical green eyes looking back at him, he reached towards them with one arm. That's all it took for Perenelle to come running towards him and engulf in a hug. This was a hug of love and pent-up emotion, it felt the same, physically, as Molly's, but the difference was that this hug was for a child who needed a family's love and was finally receiving it. Harry felt another pair of arms encircle him from behind and recognised a man's embrace.

Slowly, more tears came to his eyes and he could no longer hold them in. the dam broke and large sobs from deep within Harry's tortured soul came out echoing around the room. Ragnok was moved by this reunion, he knew how hard the Flamels had taken the kidnapping of their daughter and this was maybe the way to heal their wounds. Remus was happy for Harry, he knew James, Lily and Sirius would be looking down on this and would smiling through their tears to see their favourite person in the world start to heal.

Eventually, they all pulled apart and Ragnok waved away any apologies for the emotions. Remus was introduced to his grandparents. Grandparents!! Harry could hardly believe, here he was with his grandparents and pseudo-uncle. He was sure this memory could fuel a dozen patroni. Reus cleared his throat and got everyone's attention.

'I just realised that as Harry never received his emancipation, he must still have some blocks that James and Lily put on him as a baby. Harry was forever doing magic from the age of 3 months, he once transformed into a puppy and was always summoning his mum or cookies towards him.'

'Ragnok, we will need you to provide with the necessary healers.' Nicholas said.

Ragnok agreed and went off to leave the Flamels and Remus explain what was about to happen. Perenelle explained.

'Darling, what is about to happen is very important and painful. The goblin healers can break through the blocks put on you by your parents with a potion which will cause extreme pain. Furthermore, it will flush your system of any impurities; it will feel like a kidney stone being passed through, which is not very pleasant. A list will be made of what nutrient potions you will need to help your body develop as it should have done, the list will also explain what is in your system so that we may see what you have been subject to.'

Harry was excited about growing a bit more and receiving his full power, but remained wary of what the list would say. He didn't want his family to see what the Dursleys had done to him. He hoped they would love him the same. He agreed to undergo the procedure and a few minutes later, more goblins came through with Ragnok to start.

Harry was lying down on a table with his arms and legs tied down to stop him from hurting himself if he thrashed about too much. The goblin healer poured the potion down his throat and Harry could feel the effects straight away. He managed to not scream for the first minute or two, but it eventually became too much and let out a loud scram of pain and despair. After five minutes the effects started to subside, but then he started getting an intense pain starting around from his kidney slowly moving its way to his bladder. The pain wasn't as bad as the potion but it still hurt like hell.

In the meantime, the other people in the room were amazed that Harry had held for so long from screaming at first, but when it started, only the barrier erected stopped his grandmother from reaching him and stroking his brow. The list started appear and small frown appeared on the healer's face as she called over Ragnok. His face on the other hand became set in stone. Neither Remus nor the Flamels noticed this, until Ragnok called for their attention.

'The list has revealed the extent of the abuse Harry's body has endured, but there are two worrying potions within him at the moment. Please look at the first two lines.'

He handed the list over and staring everyone else in the face was the following:

Love Potion attuned to Ginevra Weasley – 11 months ago

Disinterest potion towards Hermione Granger – 35 months ago


	2. Interlude Hermione

Hermione was sitting in the prefects' carriage waiting for the Head boy and the other prefects to arrive after the train leaves. She still had an hour or so before then, so she took time to take stock of what she discovered over the summer holidays. First and foremost was that Ron had been feeding her two potions: Amortentia and a loyalty potion. Every time she thought about it, she felt sick to the stomach knowing what the repercussions of those two potions could have been. She had briefly held some notion of dating Ron in third year, but that quickly disappeared after the Firebolt incident as well as not trusting Harry over the Goblet of Fire. She knew that he was one of her best friends, but it would go no further than that. She now knew he wasn't a real friend to have been feeding her those potions.

Worse still was the fact that Harry had been given potions as well by Ron then Ginny. She didn't know what the potions were only that the first one had been attuned against her and the last one was to Ginny. She was slightly confused by what it meant 'against her'; but more importantly, she had been worried about Harry following another betrayal. When they met though on his birthday, he surprised her. To start with he was taller, more filled out and tanned. Her mum had said as a greeting to him 'Ah, to be 20 years younger'. Instead of the blush she expected, he simply smiled and kissed her mum's cheek whilst winking at her dad. What the hell was going on??!?!?! She found out that the Flamels were his grandparents and that pleased her no end knowing that he finally had some family with which to share his happiness.

Next on the list was the fact that he had multiple blocks on him. He had only been accessing about 40% of his magic, except in extreme circumstances like in 3rd year. He had some metamorphagus skills (face and hair only) and he had been working towards becoming an animagus as well. Apparently the last potion had been severely restricting his magic and mind, so he had apologised for last year, when he had not defended her against Ginny, but then she broke down in tears and apologised for the whole year. In the end, they both agreed that the best thing to do was to agree neither was at fault and that they should now work towards becoming the friends they had been before.

They also decided to forgo the usual visit to the Burrow that summer – no surprise – as Hermione was going to be relocating her parents and Harry was busy training. She was about to ask if she could join, but he simply put his hand up and said something that made her parents decide there and then that she and Harry should go out.

'Mia, dark times are coming so accept this from me. Too often, you have forsaken your parents for me and the magical world. So this summer, enjoy your parents and a present from me. I want you to go away and forget about us for a while. Forget the betrayals, forget the darkness and concentrate on your parents and your love of them. I need to you next year to be in the best state of mind you can be. Please, for me, do this.'

That said, he handed over an envelope and a small bag. She gave the envelope to her parents and took the bag for herself. Giving him a piercing look, she tried to find what he was doing, was he trying to…

'No Mia, I'm not distancing myself from you, I'm trying to give you a few more good memo…'

Whatever he was about to say was cut off as her mum hugged him and starting saying thank you over and over again, whilst her dad put his arms around his shoulder and just said 'Thank you, son.' She decided to peak into the bag and saw five time-turners in there, confused, she looked up at Harry for an explanation, which he promptly gave.

'Mia, listen to me very carefully. These time-turners are attuned to you and your parents so that only you three can use them. I gave your parents, three open return tickets to the Turks and Caicos. I own a plantation house out there; Dobby and Winky have been renovating it for me so that you and your parents can stay there over August. This is very simple: you three leave tomorrow morning and will brought to the house by Winky in disguise. You will then use the time-turners to spend up to nearly five months with your parents there, you will return for 1st September, but your parents will stay until the end of the war.'

'I have made Winky the secret-keeper of the house, so that only you four will know the location as well as myself. I know it as owner of the house through some Potter magic. Winky made some communication mirrors so that you can stay in touch over the school year. Please Hermione; enjoy your time with them. Go swimming, scuba-diving or whatever takes your fancy. Do this for me please.'

Hermione could only nod as the tears going down her face made it impossible for her to speak. She then launched herself at him and hugged the stuffing out of him.

Hermione discovered on the flight there that Harry had also included credit cards linked to a vault containing 1 million galleons for herself and her parents. Thinking about it now still brought tears to her face. She unfolded a letter from Harry explaining all this and finally allowed her tears to drop.

Dear Hermione,

By the time you read this, you will be somewhere over the Atlantic towards the Potter Plantation Palace (apparently, an ancestor liked alliteration) to enjoy yourself with your parents. This letter and everything else is to simply say Thank you.

Thank you from the bottom of my heart for being the best friend anyone could have. You have stood by me with faltering. Ever. You have nearly died for me; only someone true and pure would be willing to do that. Thank you for helping me even when I have seemed ungrateful. I am not very good with words. I have never been good with emotions. The Dursleys saw to that, but the time spent with Nick and Perenelle have allowed to understand love and affection a lot better. 

I am going to be honest here: you are the most important person in my life. I strive to make you proud of me; I will kill Voldemort if only to make sure you are safe. I want the best for you and with or without potions, Ron isn't that. You are a wonderful person and I hope you never forget that. If anything, I will ensure you know that forever.

Now that the first potion is making its way out of my system, I see things more clearly now. I love you so much as my best friend that it hurts. This is the first time I can recall saying that to anyone, so your claim to fame is to be the first person to have had Harry Potter say I Love You to.

For me, your happiness comes first, everything else is inconsequential. Let me make you happy whatever form it takes. Please for me to know that I died doing something right. I know that I will probably die fighting Voldemort, but at least I am working towards taking him with me. When that happens, don't mourn me, but remember the happy times. Please don't mention this to me again after this letter, I don't want to concentrate on that, I want to concentrate on getting there.

We'll have more to chat about when I see you on the train.

Your best friend (and proud of it).

Harry James Potter

* * *

A/N: THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR ALL THE REVIEWS FOR THE PREVIOUS CHAPTER. I INTEND TO TAKE EVERYTHING ON BOARD AND HOPE TO MAKE THE STORY A GOOD ONE. THERE WILL BE DEATHS, ALLIANCES, BETRAYALS, BUT MORE IMPORTANTLY, THERE WILL BE LOVE, PLENTY OF LOVE – EVEN FOR THE DEATH EATERS.

I HAVE NOT YET DECIDED IF DUMBLDORE IS GOING TO BE BASHED EXTENSIVELY, THERE WILL BE SOME SLIGHT THOUGH AND I HAVEN'T MADE MY MIND UP ABOUT DRACO YET. OR SNAPE FOR THAT MATTER.

LET ME KNOW OPINIONS.

HARRY WILL NOT BE ALL POWERFUL, BUT WILL BE STRONG. HE IS ONLY YOUNG.

ONCE AGAIN, REVIEWS WELCOME AND APPRECIATED.

Many thanks


	3. Gringotts and the Staff

'Mr Lupin, I think that maybe this Hermione Granger ought to be given some of this flushing potion. If there is nothing in her then she will not suffer any side effects anyway. Please use the floo to give it to the headmistress.'

With that, Ragnok gave a small vial to Remus who went over to the floo to explain the situation to Minerva. Whilst he was on his knees doing that, Ragnok made his way over to Harry and murmured softly in Goblin tongue. Nick and Perenelle sat there holding onto the hands of their grandson; looking at each other, they could see the joy reflected in each other's eyes at finding out that their daughter lived and gave birth to a child who was now their grandson. Just as Nick opened his mouth, Harry moaned and started to come to.

'God, where's the bus that hit me?'

Everyone chuckled at the comment. Perenelle then started to explain what had happened.

'Harry, the potions you have taken will work in different ways. Let me try to explain it to you: the first potion has neutralized the love potion that was keyed to Ginevra Weasley, so any romantic feelings that you may have had, genuine or not, have been negated until the potion is out of your system.'

'The next thing to happen is the flushing out of the disinterest potion towards Hermione Granger. This will take about 3 months to happen as it has been in your system for so long and is almost part of you. Another year and it would have been part of your system. This means that for the next 3 months, you are going to have confusing feelings and attitudes towards her; sometimes you will be angry and sometimes you will be in love. This is normal and as the potion flushes out, you will be returning to how you thought of her before the potion was introduced. What will finally happen is that it will view your memories of her since the potion's introduction and help you decide where she stands. It does not influence you, but simply takes into account what would have normally happened.'

'Finally, your blocks have started to dissolve and will be completely broken in about 4 months. This is done to allow you time to get used to the extra energy and flux of information from your brain. The blocks were very simple: one contained your special talents, the next blocked your absorption and understanding of information and finally, there was one to hamper your growth. Sometime, you will remember when these were forced on you as the memory blocks with each will also break.'

As Perenelle and Nick were explaining all this to Harry, Remus had returned from his conversation with Minerva and explained that a similar flushing potion had been given to her for Hermione. In the meantime, Ragnok was in a very big debate with the healers. Suddenly, it stopped and he sighed slumping his shoulders. He turned around to face the young mage on the bed.

'Harry, the healers have uncovered some pretty bad information for you, but first, drink this and we will explain everything.'

A healer goblin came forward with the potion and started to explain the findings.

"Mister Potter, I do not know how to say this, so I'll be blunt: you have been mistreated physically, underfed and have a horcrux in your head. Now before you start to panic, we can resolve this. The first thing is that we have some very potent nutrient potions that will accelerate the flushing out of the other potions from your systems as well the breaking down of your blocks. The only disadvantage to this is that you will suffer from aches similar to puberty growth aches for the first week or two."

"The horcrux is easier to deal with. We, Goblins, are very much in tune with soul magic and can remove this horcrux from you as well as destroy it. The down side is that this can only be done once all the potions have worked and will take a week. The process will force you into an enchanted sleep for a week, whilst we work to remove it from you."

Everyone sat back in horror knowing what a horcrux is, Perenelle was crying thinking about the abuse Harry suffered and swore with Nick to get revenge. Harry on the hand was ecstatic; here was the potential to be a decent size and also he may have found someone to help with the destruction of the horcruxes. He was saddened by the betrayal he suffered regarding the two potions, but swore revenge on those who wronged him in a manner worthy of a Slytherin.

"Let me get this straight, you can sense and destroy horcruxes, right?" At Ragnok's nod, Harry continued "Voldemort has split in soul into 7 horcruxes, two have been destroyed and Dumbledore died trying to get the third but that turned out to be a fake. Ragnok, can you organise teams of goblins to research and find locations for the others? I want to organise a fund for the retrieval and destruction of these things. Remus can work on using muggle resources such as libraries and museums. Voldemort was brought up in a muggle orphanage and lived in the muggle world and bought one of his horcruxes in the muggle road. He will have used it even if he looked down on it."

Remus looked on amusedly as Harry took charge. It seemed as though the blocks being removed also allowed him to become more assertive and assume the mantel of the Chosen One as Dumbledore did all those years ago.

* * *

As Remus was passing that judgement, it seemed that magic was agreeing with him as deep within the Department of Mysteries, a low rumbling could be heard coming from behind one of the closed doors. The Unspeakables were running about as this had never happened before. One unspeakable was standing in front of the door knowing that this would have to be reported to his Master. Rookwood shook his head and went off to report back as soon as possible. He knew that nothing would come of waiting in front of it. 'A watched kettle never boils' he thought humourlessly to himself as he went to Malfoy Manor. That was Rookwood's first mistake, a few minutes after he left the door to the room where the humming came from opened. His second and last mistake would come later.

Wearing the shield uniform, Unspeakable 10 went into the room to see nothing but a faint glow coming from the corner furthest from him. This struck him as odd as the rooms were meant to be round; before he could ponder this matter any longer, the glowing intensified and the Unspeakable saw it came from a staff in the corner. As he approached, he was using the headset to video what was happening and explaining what he was feeling. All this was being relayed to the office of the Head Unspeakable, who was watching this with a team of spell experts. No 10 suddenly came across a force field that didn't harm him but told him that he couldn't approach anymore. It was close enough for one of the Unspeakables to identify what they were looking at.

"Sweet Merlin, that's Merlin's Staff." Seeing the blank looks around him, he continued. "The Staff is said to be imbued with the essence of Merlin. Merlin was a practitioner of something called Purity Magic; nothing is known about it except for two things: the first is that Merlin was the last person to wield that magic using it to defeat Evil and the second is that it can only be used by certain people, who were chosen by magic itself. Well, that's what the legend says."

The office was quiet following this revelation and the other Unspeakables sat thinking what this could mean especially with Voldemort on the loose. As the Head Unspeakable stood up, the staff disappeared in a flash of bright light. Very quickly, the Head Unspeakable ordered each and every unspeakable that had seen the staff to secrecy that could only be broken by the possessor of the staff.

* * *

At the same time, the staff appeared next to Harry who was still in Gringotts discussing how to use his resources to fight the war. They had just agreed on buying a majority of the Daily Prophet, when the staff appeared, Harry only had one thing to say.

"What the bloody hell is that?"

"That" said Ragnok "is the Staff of Merlin and it appears to have found a wizard to bond with in you."

The Flamels and Remus both had looks of shock and a little apprehension on their faces. They knew of the legends of the Staff of Merlin and were quite excited to see it really existed, whilst Harry just groaned and put his head in his hands and complained about never being normal. Perenelle quickly admonished him.

"Harry, stop thinking like that. This could be the reason that you live past Voldemort, also you will never be normal as you put it. Normal is boring, you are our grandchild, Remus' godson of sorts and you will become the Defeater of Voldemort. You can act normal with your friends and family, but to the rest of the world, you are the difference between giving in to the dark side and continuing to fight on. Assume the responsibility of being the Chosen One, whether you like it or not, because, right now, people need to see you in public looking confident, not the little boy who is afraid of being different. So be a man and suck it up!"

"Yes Gran." Harry replied feeling too chastised to say anything else. Clearing his throat, he asked: "Maybe someone could explain all this Merlin and his Staff to me."

Ragnok cut in: "maybe I would be best seeing that my grandfather helped make the Staff. Merlin was the last wielder of Purity or Intent Magic. They are the same thing despite the two names; Purity because it needs the purity and selflessness of someone special to wield it and intent, because that is what the magic is about. You must intend for something to happen to actually make it happen."

"Of course, you can't just wish for someone to turn into a horse and wave the staff to appear. The harder the intent, like a spell, the harder you must concentrate to make it happen. Because it became so hard to wield, the practise died out very quickly and normal magic, today's magic, took over allowing more magical beings to use magic. Having said that, the spells are a lot more potent and volatile with Merlin's magic. Imagine the difference between a bludgeoning curse from a wand and the bludgeoning curse from someone wanting or intending for that person to be put out of action. The wand can only injure as much as the power of the wizard or witch, but the Staff takes into account how much intent there is in the wielder."

"Young Master Harry, this will take a lot of work and practise to get right, but when it clicks together, you will be a force to be reckoned with; after all, if you want it enough, you could create a shield for the killing curse. The consequences are limitless; the Staff will allow you to heal, cure, curse, maim and kill as long as you are dong what is right and not easy. It will not help you kill a person who has no defence, just like it could help you save your best friends from falling of a cliff or from the killing curse."

Harry sat in awe of the possibilities the Staff could present him with regards to Voldemort. Gathering his thoughts together, he turned to the rest of the room and asked:

"What's next then?"

Nicholas came forward and hoped that his grandson would accept this offer of help.

"Harry, Perenelle and I would like it if you came to stay with us for the holidays until it is time to go back to Hogwarts. We have time-turners that we could use so that you can learn as much as possible about all these skills and harness your power before September. We live in South Africa and the property is protected by the Fidelius with Ragnok as secret-keeper so it is very safe indeed. Any of your friends can come at any time, say your birthday, if you so wished. Any communication to be done can be done by floo as we have a password protected entry; Perenelle and I could teach you many things and we have a friend that can help with the Staff as he uses one regularly. He is a local tribe chief and knows who we are and knows of the threat of Voldemort too. Finally, we would really like it if you came and spent time with us to get to know you better."

Harry didn't hesitate; he nodded gratefully and arranged for regular contact with Ragnok, Remus and the headmistress at Hogwarts. With his final goodbyes, he stepped through the floo on his way to South Africa. Ragnok and Remus stood there for a moment looking as the future savour of the world left and turned to each other. Remus murmured:

"He's going to change the world. James and Sirius would have loved to see this prank."

Ragnok agreed wholeheartedly and spoke of his wish for front-row seats. Eventually, they pated ways, but not before Ragnok gave Remus a mobile phone from America that was charmed to work when surrounded by magic.

"Harry will have your number as well so you can talk."

Remus thanked him and left the office leaving the old goblin alone in his office with the goblin healers. He turned to them and asked in goblin-tongue:

"What exactly did you give him?"

"We also gave him some advanced growth potions, but more importantly, we allowed for Goblin blood to be used in them. He will soon be able to talk to us in our native tongue without even noticing it. We thought it might make things easier when dealing with the others looking for the horcruxes."

Ragnok thanked them for this and turned back to his desk; the healers understood the dismissal and left the office. Just as he sat down, Ragnok was interrupted by someone knocking at the door, cursing softly; he opened the door to find himself confronted with Griphook.

"Sorry sir, but the Weasley Matriarch is causing quite a fuss in the main hall claiming she has permission from Lord Potter to enter his vault and withdraw some money; what shall I do?"

"Bring her to my office if you please Griphook."

Griphook nodded and went off to fetch the annoying redhead. Meanwhile Ragnok sat at his desk and allowed an evil grin to form on his face.

* * *

A.N: NEXT WE SHALL HAVE THE WEASLEY INTERLUDE – SIMILAR TO HERMIONE BUT WITH GINNY, RON AND MRS WEASLEY.

ONCE AGAIN, REVIEWS ARE WELCOME AND ENCOURAGED.

MANY THANKS


	4. Interlude: Weasleys comeuppance 1 of 3

Ginny Weasley (soon to be Potter – she thought to herself) was not a happy woman. First, Harry had disappeared off the face of the earth with the only indication he was alive a brief note stating he would be back on 1st September. Next, he had broken up with her, how could that have happened, the potion was meant to ensure that he wouldn't even think of it. Also on the list of grievances was the fact that Hermione had also disappeared, she told Ron in a letter that she and her parents were taking a cruise until 1st September so that they could have more time together. This meant that neither of the victims was going to be doused with love potions and the rest. What made it the worse of all is that they could no longer access Harry's vault; the keys had been changed and her mum had no idea how at the moment. This meant she would have to use her feminine wiles on Slughorn again to get some of the ingredients. Little did she know that as she was thinking up ways to spend to the Potter fortune, small trinket in her room as well as her broom were slowly disappearing, she noticed this only when she felt a breeze on her breasts. Looking down she saw her little freckle-covered breasts were uncovered for the whole village to see. As she looked up, she could the villagers had noticed and many a boy was laughing at her, with tears threatening to spill, she ran off in the direction of the burrow. It's not her fault she didn't have her mothers' breasts so she never needed a bra.

* * *

Ron Weasley was flying around on his new broom that his mother had bought for his birthday earlier in the year using Harry's money and the fool had no idea, after all his statements come here on his suggestion to his mother - she in turn mentioned, innocently, to Dumbledore that Harry wouldn't want his relatives knowing about the money so maybe the statements could come here instead. He was happy for a number of reasons: he had a broom that Harry bought (even if he didn't know it), the potions were working meaning that Hermione would soon be his and finally, he knew he would be Head Boy instead of Harry as he had been prefect and not him– he just needed to convince Hermione that school was better than going around the country looking for hurcruxes. Harry could if he wanted to, he'd even suggest going to the library if it was needed to go that far. The other advantage was the fact that he and Hermione would share a room - oh yes, he would have fun with her. It was coming up to lunchtime and he was getting hungry; he started salivating at the thought of the food his mother would cook. He started to make his way down to the Burrow when the broom vanished from underneath him and he fell the remaining forty feet to the ground below breaking his nose, arm and leg and puncturing his lung; but he fainted from the pain before he could cry out in pain.

* * *

Molly Weasley flooed back to the Burrow in a rage, everything was going down the shits. A few days ago, she had met with some big cheese Goblin who told her that the key to the accounts for Potter had been changed, he said "Allow me to find out exactly what has been going on here and I'll you know the results." She left and was assured they would contact her by owl, which they did this morning and she went across to them.

_Flashback_

_"Ah Mrs Weasley, please take a seat. I have looked into the key situation and I just want to clarify a few things first. The key was given to you by whom exactly?"_

_"Albus Dumbledore, he gave it to me so that I could do some shopping for young Harry whenever anything was needed."_

_"Very well, I have here some of the withdrawals made by yourself and they do not corresponding with any of the information Lord Potter has given me, in fact…"_

_At this point, Molly knew she was in trouble and decided to leave now. Harry was being called Lord Potter, he was emancipated, and he now had full control over his finances. Oh shit was the predominant thought going through her mind right now._

_"Well, thanks for making sure that everything was in order with Harry's vault, I'll just be leaving then."_

_As she said this her arms became tied to the chair she was on and she felt the silencing charm be applied to her. She looked to the Goblin and found herself staring a scary face lined with pointy teeth in what could only be described be as a maniacal grin. She paled further when Bill was revealed to her standing behind the Goblin with a sad look on his face._

_"Following our investigation into the accounts of Lord Potter, we have found you in breach of the trust shown to you by the account holder. Following an agreement with Albus Dumbledore, original trustee of the accounts, statements of accounts were to your address to Lord Potter. This includes the letters requesting confirmation of his intent to become the new Lord Potter and Lord Black when he was 14 and 16. By withholding his birth rights, you have breached the Rights of Family allowing Lord Potter his rightful title and monies. Following a brief discussion with him, he has decided that the money can be kept, but not what was bought with it. As I speak, the possessions you bought with Lord Potter's money are being taken back to be sold and reclaim the money as much as possible. Against our wishes, Lord Potter has decided to save your family some dignity and will not press charges further unless you decide to take more action against my client. Is that understood?"_

_Molly could only nod, whilst in her mind she was already making plans to get the Potter fortune back in her grasp. She knew that she'd have to beg or get Ginny to do more 'services' to get the necessary ingredients for the potions. The meeting was broken and Molly was allowed to leave, she made her way to Bill, but before she could say anything, he spoke up:_

_"Mum, don't even speak to me, I had to lead this investigation and it has disgusted me. As such, we have decided that Fleur and I will get married at the Delacoeur estate in France and you can find the money yourself to come by portkey. Goodbye mum and don't speak to me until then, if you can make it."_

_End of flashback_

Molly was fuming; she looked out of the window and saw something that confused her, Ron was lying in the grass looking mighty uncomfortable whilst her only daughter was running half-naked towards the house in tears. With the shock of the interrogation earlier, she did the only thing left, she fainted.

**A.N: THIS IS SHORT AS THE COME-UPPANCE OF THE WEASLEYS WILL BE DONE IN 3 PARTS.**

**I want to say thanks to all those who have reviewed, the kind words have warmed 'me cockles' as they say. Seriously though, thanks for everything, I love reading the reviews and the suggestions; everything is taken on board and I will reply to private messages.**

**Thanks. Next chapter will be Harry's summer until his birthday by way of diary entries and flashbacks.**


	5. Summer Training Part One

Diary of Harry Potter – Week One

Oooh my god, I have such a head rush right now. Let me explain, Gran, Grandpa and I have decided that I should use time turners to learn as much as I can over the course of the holidays. It's very simple, we have six other me's that are time-turning a week at a time, then come Sunday all the clones disappear and re-enter my mind with the knowledge and experience learnt over the last 6 or 7 days. It's a real rush when the info comes into my mind – I am so glad that we have a night to recuperate, because I really need it. We've decided to go by numbers, I'm 1 and the others go from 2 to 7. Clone 2 is earning to find his core with Chief Theki before he can learn to wield the Staff.

_Flashback_

_Harry 2 was sitting in front of Chief Theki listening to the introduction necessary to the wielding of Staves._

_"Harry, you must understand that the magic being the wielding of a staff in much more complex than wands. A staff is a part of your being, an extension of yourself; the staff can be used by either hand. It becomes part of you; it will connect to your magic and obey your commands. What you need is to find your magic within, look within yourself for makes you you; look for the part of you that is unique that determines the person that you are. Regardless of whether your blocks are disappearing or still there, your core can be found and as it will grow your manipulation of the staff will get stronger and better."_

_"Close your eyes and look within yourself for your inner strength, look for what makes you stand up to evil and unfairness, look for the muscle of your soul. Look Harry look for your life to that was, that is and that will be."_

_Harry took a deep breath and closed his eyes. Thinking back on what Chief Theki was saying, Harry decided to think about himself and what was important to him to fight for and win. He knew who he had to win for, his friends – his real friends, his grandparents, Remus and others who believe in him. He concentrated on these feelings of love – following Dumbledore's idea of love being powerful. Whilst he didn't think it was the powerful force Dumbledore believed, it was something that could give you force. Suddenly, he felt himself go light, almost as though he were flying. A warmth spread through him and felt himself grow stronger; Harry opened his eyes and saw a myriad of colours surrounding him. It was beautiful – red, gold, white and blue; the colours were mixing together, it was like a small set of fireworks. Chief Theki's voice cut through his musings._

_"Well done Harry. Over the next two weeks, we are going to be looking for you to manipulate your core and call it up at will so that it is always ready for you to use. After that, we will be working on wandless magic until you have no more blacks in the way so that your staff may bond with you."_

_End of flashback_

Since then, I have been progressing slowly, but surely. It takes a lot of effort and I get tired quickly, but I was assured that the Staff would help with the energy levels as it will bond to me. Clone 3 is doing physical exercise, apparently, it is the rugby season here and the local rugby club trains every day with a game at the weekend as long as it doesn't clash with a Tri-Nations game. It turns out that rugby training here concentrates on maintaining lengthy concentration and physical fitness with no let-up. Needless to say, I am knackered every evening. I thought I was fit through quidditch, but it's my upper body that isn't so good, my legs are fine though. Coach assured me that by the end of the summer (winter here) I'll be a true Springbok. I had to look that up and when I found out what it meant, I was looking forward to looking like that.

Clone 4 is reviewing the last 6 years of schooling so that I can build upon that knowledge, I am doing one year per week at the same time as learning the theory behind everything so that I know why spells work and no that they just work. Clone 5 is learning Arithmancy from Gran, whilst Clone 6 is learning Ancient Runes also from Gran. Clone 7 is learning from a Master Goblin about the handling of his finances and I, as Clone 1, am learning the intricacies of politics from Grandpa as well as the history of magical Britain.

Diary of Harry Potter – Week Two

At last, I am free of the potions!!! This means that next week, I get the Horcrux removed from my head, Chief Theki will be present as well to control my magic if it responds. Apparently, that could happen. Anyway, my control over it has got better according to Chief Theki as he had me doing exercises to adapt my power levels to what he was displaying. It was strange looking at him and seeing his magic, measuring it then trying to match it with my own. Anyway after about three days of constant practise, I was managing to get it correct after about 30 seconds.

Clone 3 is getting fitter and apparently has pretty good skills, they are trying him out as a scrum-half, apparently, they have to be fit, quick and agile. It seems that running away from Dudley and avoiding bludgers have really helped me with this aspect of the game. He really enjoys it too, he's taken to running every morning as well so that it is something that can be continued at Hogwarts and wherever else I go.

Clone 4 is really getting into the theory of the classes and is making me wish that I had paid more attention in classes before, or at least listened to Hermione. Maybe the classes ought to be broken up by ability and not just houses. Having said, I allowed myself to be influenced by Ron. I was desperate for a friend so I copied him and his work ethic; what does that mean about me? I tried too hard for the one that deserved nothing and hardly at all for the one friend who was been my best supporter since the beginning. I need to rectify this.

Clone 5 is enjoying Arithmancy saying that is reminds him of maths. I used to really enjoy maths at school, it was really easy. Gran has said that with the horcrux removed, I will probably find it even easier as it might have done some damage to my learning abilities. I guess that makes sense, I mean, it has always felt like a physical weight in my mind as well as psychological. I am looking forward to this thing being out of me at long last. It makes me wonder if Dumbledore knew about it and if he did what his plan was. I need to think about this some more.

Clones 6 and 7 are finding their courses interesting but rather dry, although, clone 6 said that I, or is it he, will soon learn warding. Now that sounds like fun, imagine the possibilities of warding your wand, your trunk, your bed and giving yourself a completely secure environment. Finally, clone 1, me, is really hating politics. The idea of living in the muggle world is beginning to sound very appealing after Voldemort goes.

Diary of Harry Potter – Week 3

I FEEL SO GOOD! Honestly, that horcrux was hindering me; apparently, my growth both physical and emotional was stunted by this thing inside of me. My magic is not greater but purer; this means that I have more control over it and should make my Staff magic and wandless abilities much better. It's almost like it has been fine-tuned to a higher level. I grew some three inches over the week, every time the horcrux came closer to being pulled out, I grew. The only downside to this is that the healers decided to strip me so that clothes didn't give me burns or anything. I was mortified when I found out; however, I was assured by everyone that I had nothing to be ashamed off. Even Gran told me this – please kill me now!

Having said that, it feels so good to have had it removed from me; I no longer need glasses and my mind feels sharper, but the best thing about it is that my scar has nearly gone; there will always be a slight trace of it as it had been there for so long. When I was reviewing my memories of all that I have studied in the last two weeks, things seem clearer, they make sense. I can see the link between runes, the equations in Arithmancy are obvious, but the weirdest thing is that I can see magic. I see the glow of a spell before it is used, I see whether people are magical or not. It turns out that two from rugby are magical; I'll have chat with them and see if they play quidditch.

It has been agreed that my new abilities will be trained as well; I have some metamorphic abilities, some shadow abilities (?), some elemental abilities. I haven't been given a complete list by Gran and Granddad so that I can discover what my limits are by myself. I'll write more when I come across them.

Oh and did I mention that we have recovered the locket and that it was destroyed by Griphook's team. It was at Grimmauld Place the entire time. Imagine that, Dumbledore wouldn't have needed to die. Also, there is some horcrux magic coming from a vault belonging to Bella. Since I am Lord Black, I have cut off all access to those vaults and have had teams investigating and sorting through them to determine what can be used in a fight against death eaters. Hopefully more good news next week.

Diary of Harry Potter – Week 4

It's incredible, with the horcrux gone, I seem to assimilate magic and learn theories a lot quicker than I have ever done. I am thoroughly enjoying Arithmancy as it is so much fun doing maths and combining magic to make it respond to your wishes. As I can see magic and its reactions, it helps greatly too knowing when to change and what the strength or frequency of magic. The other great news is that they discovered a horcrux; it was Hufflepuff's Chalice and was in Bella's vault. The team that found it has destroyed it. Furthermore, they have sorted through all the vaults and found a few things that are of no use to wizards and witches, but could help sway a few other magical beings to our side. I gave Remus and Ragnok full trust to negotiate with them as they know more about this than I do. Gran also pointed out that it looks as though I trust other magical beings. I never thought of it that way – this is why I'd be no good at politics.

I bonded with my Staff this week; it was unusual to say the least.

_Flashback_

_"Harry today is the day that you bond with your Staff; it's relatively easy, you will need to find what core to put in your Staff so I have brought from my store the powerful cores normally needed for staves. To find it, reach out with your magic and find what responds to you, there's no limit to the number so don't stop until you no longer feel a response."_

_Harry nodded and closed his eyes and stretched out with his senses and magic over the pots and cauldrons in front of him. He knew straight away that things were going to be different for him; his magic reacted violently and sent off two probes far away from where he was. It took all of his concentration not to open his eyes in shock. He was also rather despondent that none of the elements in front of him seemed to be a match for him; he was surprised though by the flapping of wings behind him and feeling two sets of claws dig into his shoulders. _

_Knowing that this is what his probes fetched and nothing else would do, he opened his eyes to see Hedwig on one shoulder and Fawkes on the other. Hedwig hooted softly and Harry couldn't help but gently smile in thanks to his faithful friend. Meanwhile, Fawkes was looking old and tired, Harry noted; worried he reached up to stroke him and was surprised when a mournful trill sounded and a few tears leaked from Fawkes' eyes. Without thinking, Harry conjured a small vial and collected these tears. _

_When he completed that task, Hedwig and Fawkes flew off his shoulder and flew around in circles getting closer and closer to hitting one another, until they collided in a loud mixture of a hoot and a trill accompanied by a bright white light. Out of this light flew a graceful white phoenix with large amber eyes that had a green edge around them and slowly came down to rest on his shoulder._

_End of Flashback_

Needless to say, I was stunned until Chief Theki explained to me this was the way that phoenixes were born. When a phoenix is to pass away after the death of his partner, he sought a bird that was a familiar to a pure wizard and thus created a new phoenix. Amazingly, I can now sense Hedwig's thoughts and emotions, this feels amazing. Anyway, I used two feathers from Hedwig and Fawkes' tears, Chief Theki guided me through the process of merging the elements and the Staff through my magic. The last part was to coat the diamond at the top in my blood so that only I could use it. The blood was absorbed by the diamond and the Staff glowed deep red for a moment, before settling on its height of six feet and turquoise colour. The feeling I got from holding the Staff is indescribable, it is an extension of me, when I do not need it, it disappears, but I feel it near me all the time. I always feel its presence by my side.

I'm not alone anymore.

My other clones have all mentioned that the horcrux being gone has enhanced their abilities and they love it. Clone 5 has decided to write a paper on it so that we may all understand how it affected us before. It gets a little confusing talking about multiple selves, then sometimes knowing it's just me and not other me's. Does that make sense? I'll ask Hermione how she felt in third year. Talking of which, tomorrow is my birthday so no time-turner for me, but Hermione and her parents are coming. I hope she accepts what I offer her and her parents for protection and enjoyment.

**A.N: I HOPE THIS CHAPTER EXPLAINS SOME OF HIS TRAINING, THERE WILL A SECOND PART FOR AFTER HIS BIRTHDAY.**

**THANKS AGAIN FOR ALL THE KIND WORDS OF REVIEWS AND ENCOURAGEMENT.**

**NEXT CHAPTER WILL BE THE DEATH EATERS INTERLUDE WITH MALFOYS AND SNAPE.**


	6. Interlude: Some Death Eaters Reflect

Scared. Alone. Scared and alone. Or is it alone and scared. I guess if you're alone, then you're more likely to be scared. I had the love of two people whilst I grew up and one of them was not my dad. Now, I have nothing left. My mum is dead trying to save my life and the other person… well, let's just say that he helped me last year, but not out of love. It was out of duty. I have never been able to rely on my father; he looked out only for three things: the Dark Lord, the Malfoy name and money. Or power, he didn't mind which because they both go hand in hand. Last year, I thought I was doing what was right. I mean Dumbledore was a fool to believe he could win; especially with Potter on his side.

Potter. He's the root of all this trouble. If he had died then my father could have loved me as much as my mum did, my godfather would gave shown me if he really loved me. I mean he killed so that I could live, he says, but how do I know that's the truth. He could have killed because he wanted to and that way, he looked like the rightful hero to me, I would worship him and do anything he wants. I know better now, he didn't say anything when she died. I know he loved her, his eyes and face went tender when he spoke to her.

Blasted Dark Lord and Potter. They're both at fault in this, I should the rightful heir living in glory to one of the oldest families as well as the richest, but here I am stuck in the dungeon of some manor belonging to some family called Riddle. Obviously muggle; I mean there never has been a wizarding family called Riddle. Ever. The word in the corridor is that He is related to them somehow. That confuses me; he spouts about pureblood supremacy but has some muggle relatives. No-one can answer me here as they're too afraid of being killed.

The best trait of a Slytherin is self-preservation, my godfather says; the best way to stay alive is too agree with everything the leader of any group says. It took me a while to listen to that. It's only last year that I learnt that lesson after I nearly died. I had been warned that Potter was on tenterhooks throughout the year, his godfather had died and his best friends were distancing themselves from him. I was told he was easy to anger and Potter's anger was not a pretty thing. The leader told me that. I didn't listen and I nearly died. I learnt my lesson well.

Only one person can answer my question and he is more likely to kill me before I can even open my mouth. Potter isn't really the goody two shoes everyone thought he was: he was ready to kill. According to rumours, he has killed before; he even got Bella with the cruciatus. He must good somewhat to get the drop on her and battle the Dark Lord and survive. Many times. I need to plan what I am going to do; I need to learn to think for myself; too often I have used my father as an excuse. An excuse he is, a pathetic excuse of a being. Malfoys lead and never kneel. How many times did he drum that into my head, yet day after day, I see him in front of a non-pureblood wizard and agree to receive the pain curse. Multiple times. He must be missing something in the head.

The Malfoy fortune is also slowly losing its gloss as well as content. He keeps pouring more and more into the ministry for the spies and moles he uses or to 'help' some decision along. Shouldn't he be more cunning about it? Everyone knows he does it. Slytherins are the behind the scenes leaders, which is why Ravenclaws or Hufflepuffs lead the ministry as they are easier to manipulate. Who can I go to with these thoughts? Once again, I am alone and scared. Draco Malfoy is alone and scared. And it is all my fault.

* * *

I can see him. He keeps to the background, especially after her death. I wish I could tell him the truth, but I cannot. Walls have ears, especially with other death eaters about. I curse the Dark Lord in my mind over and over again. I love two people in my life right now. One of them is safe in another country, whilst the other no longer trusts me. I cannot tell him to trust me or even show him why as long as I am within these walls. We need to get captured, the Order would give us the truth serum and the truth would come out. Albus said that Potter could now protect his mind; he will need to when this comes out.

Draco needs to be careful; his mind is becoming more and more open for people to see what he is thinking. She would never forgive me if something happened to him, I wouldn't forgive myself either.

I have assigned him a mission that will take things of his mind for a while until a pertinent mission comes up. Then, I will take him, we will get captured and hopefully, he can go and see her. Potter will be agreeable as he knows the need for a mother all too well and the others will agree that one more death eater out of the way is a good thing. Once I explain the truth, though; what will they do with me? I wish they could send me away with them, but that might be too much to hope for. Hopefully by then, Albus' portrait will have woken up and he will reason with them.

I wonder how many of these people actually people in pureblood supremacy. I certainly don't; the Dark Lord is the perfect example, the only problem is that no-one here knows that. Maybe I should say that no-one here will acknowledge it knowing it means instant death or torture. They just want power, they want to prove themselves. Lucius is the perfect example. His father and mother, Abraxus and Nolwen, were close friends of Dumbledore. Yes they were in Slytherin, but that was because they were cunning and ambitious. He was personal advisor to the Minister and she was the foremost potions expert in Europe until her death. I was her apprentice that is how I got to know Lucius when spending evenings there in Malfoy Manor.

It's also how I got to really know her; we knew each other at school despite being in different years, however, it was only afterwards that I fell in love with her. She was already betrothed to Lucius, I knew he was a death eater so trying to impress her, I joined. I'll always remember her reaction to that news. It was disgust, she told me she had act a certain way being a Black and betrothed to Lucius but she most certainly did not agree with it all. She had her public persona and then she had her private persona.

That was best exemplified by Draco. She told him that Lucius expected him to act in a certain manner and it was best if she did so that the punishment received for not doing so was minimal, but privately, she encouraged him to love and to learn as well as thinking for himself. That was fine until he went to Hogwarts; being surrounded by mini-Lucius' all year round, he started to forget her teachings and became more and more like him. It broke her heart. If only she could see him now, she would see the broken little boy that loved her and wanted to be more like her. She would then know just how good a mother she really is.

I just want all this to be over and finished. I want Lucius dead, Draco safe with his mum and finally, I want to be able to discover new potions and not teach. Ever. Ever Again. At the moment, I, too, am alone, but I am not scared for myself but for Draco. I want my godson safe and away from all this rubbish.

* * *

Why did I join in the first place? I had such good friends, we teased each other all the times, and we played pranks on everyone. I had a girlfriend that loved me. Until I had to kill her to prove my worth. What made me join the death eaters? I still don't know, the only thing I remember is waking up one morning with a hangover and the dark mark. Next to me was Melissa dead. Her eyes were open with a vacant stare that I have seen too many times since then. I had killed her and I cried for hours that day.

I was never recruited as a fighter; I can't fight, never have and never will do. Whenever there is a raid, I get left behind. Like a nanny. Oh Merlin, where did it all go wrong? I owe little Harry a life debt as well. I could have paid him in the graveyard, but I couldn't. Not with the Dark Lord there, he is too powerful for me to rebel. I remember picking up Harry for the first time. He was so small and pink. The marauders were expanding their family. He opened his eyes and there was all the innocence you could ever wish to see and hope for as well.

Even I wasn't afraid of the Dark Lord, there is no-one here I could speak to. Everyone wants to be as close to the power as possible, so any sign of weakness and you'll be replaced or killed. I want to escape but I can't. Something else apart from the fear of the Dark Lord is telling not to. It's that voice I hear in my mind. It has been there since that morning when I found Melissa dead in bed next to me. I want that voice to go away, please, someone, please make that voice disappear. It has ruined my like since then. I could have been happy, married with kids and Melissa. We might have been killed in battle, but at least I would have been able to look at my friends straight in the eyes.

There are some people here that remain purely to satisfy their urges: McNair loves to torture, Bella loves to kill and I hear the moans that come from the bedroom she shares with her husband and brother when they come back from a raid. Some even believe in the cause, they want wizards and witches to rule the world; everyone else is beneath them and should serve them. I used to have my friends who helped everyone and anyone that needed it. I used to believe in freedom and justice. Not anymore, I am here: cold, alone and scared.

**A.N: THERE WILL BE ANOTHER CHAPTER DEALING WITH THE THOUGHTS OF OTHER DEATH EATERS.**

**I HOPE YOU ENJOYED THIS ONE, I WANTED TO GIVE A LITTLE HUMANITY TO SOME, THIS DOESN'T MAKE THEM SAINTS, BUT IT ALLOWS YOU TO GAIN AN INSIGHT INTO SOME.**

**NEXT CHAPTER WILL BE THE LAST HALF OF HARRY'S SUMMER, SOME WILL WILL BE DIARY FORMAT AND SOME WILL BE NARRATIVE.**

**ONCE AGAIN. THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THE REVIEWS. THE MORE I GET THEM, THE MORE I WANT TO WRITE. (HINT HINT!!)**


	7. Allies, Weasleys and Veela

1st August 1997

Harry managed to stay upright as he stepped through the floo into Ragnok's office. Ragnok chuckled as he heard Harry muttering to himself about how it was the first time he hadn't fallen over. He went over to greet the young wizard with a hearty handshake and exchanged pleasantries whilst the other guests arrived. A scant ten minutes later, Ragnok's office was full of dignitaries representing various parts of the magical world.

Rufus Scrimgeour was present as was the Count Dracul – leader of the Vampire Clans, Minerva McGonagall, Marcel Delacour, the Flamels and by communication crystal, Fried leader of the Giants. Scrimgeour could only look on in envy as the Chosen One, Harry Potter, was greeted warmly by the leader of the Goblin Nation and the French Minister of Magic. He needed his support to stabilise wizarding Britain, with Dumbledore's death, the populace was afraid and wary of the Ministry as they had discredited Albus for so long.

Rufus Scrimgeour was amazed as the meeting went on by the fact that the Goblin Nation was going to be actively helping in the war against Voldemort, the Vampire Clans would remain neutral and the Giants were happy to be left alone on some land that was provided by Potter. It seemed as though Potter had some important artefacts in his vaults that belonged to these people and that the restitution of these goods had helped sway what had previously been some of Voldemort's allies into neutrality or allies.

Once Lord Dracul and Fried had finished, only the humans were left with Ragnok.

"Minster, I understand that you need my help to both look good, but also because you want to defeat Voldemort. I will help you but there are some things that I need from you – assurances. First, I am the Chosen One, only I can kill Voldemort, however, you may not advertise that fact to anyone. Second, my grandparents, Nicholas and Perenelle Flamel, will teach at Hogwarts this year – potions and defence against the dark arts. Third, the goblin nation has volunteered to defend Diagon Alley. You may or may not know but this is Goblin land by way of agreement following the last Goblin war, they have the constitutional right to defend it. Obviously, the general population is not aware of this and is most likely to be repulsed by the idea that all this belongs to them, so it will remain a secret, however, all death eaters caught destroying the properties or attempting to will be dealt with according to Goblin laws."

"Next, anyone should be allowed to perform magic to defend themselves, so the age of being allowed to use magic is to be abolished, obviously, it will remain forbidden to use magic in front of unsuspecting muggles. Finally, death eaters caught outside of Diagon Alley will be interrogated with Veritaserum straightaway and, if found guilty, they will be put through the veil of Death. At the moment, too many death eaters get away with everything because they either escape Azkaban or bribe their way out. The jury is to consist of the teachers at Hogwarts. They are impartial to the ministry and should remain so, so there can be no bias."

Rufus sat back and thought about this. Everything that had been put to him was sound. It was obvious that he had the support of the Goblin nation. He, himself, had seen too many people escape justice when he was Head Auror because of politics. He didn't want to be Minster but the alternative had been Alex Carrow, a well-known sympathiser of Voldemort. The only difficulty was to get these changes agreed; passing them through the Wizengamot was going to be difficult; if only he could away with them. Suddenly a spark came into his eyes and devious smile crept over his face. Turing back to those present, he explained the reason for his smile.

"I agree with those measures, it's just very hard to put them through past the Wizengamot, but I should be able to. I will have to invoke the Right To War, which is a law that allows the Minster to act for the good of the Wizarding world without needing to always go the Wizengamot. I would like it if I could organise a press conference for later explaining these measures on the steps of Gringotts, showing my support for these measures."

Ragnok readily agreed to this, the conversation then turned to the help that Marcel Delacour could bring by allowing for the European Task Force to work with Aurors in tracking death eaters and fighting them, he had about 200 that were willing to help and could be posted out in the next two weeks. The meeting finished, Scrimgeour made his way out, but was stopped by Harry who whispered something in his ear that got a wide smile out of the Minster.

Walking back to Ragnok, Harry leant down and whispered in his ear:

"Get your potions people to make Wolfsbane freely available from today. Charge my accounts for it; the Minister is going to announce it today. It won't be enough to get all the werewolves across, but it will show that we believe in them. No testing with Veritaserum to show our trust, but have guards hidden and ready in case of problems."

Turning to the others in the room, Harry explained what he hoped to do for the remainder of the summer: he wants his clones to be free to learn for the rest of the summer without returning every week; he also wants Tonks to teach him how to control his metamorphagus skills when she can; he would love to attend Fleur and Bill's wedding in a week and a half. Satisfied with the reaction of the others, he flooed back to the Flamels

Diary of Harry Potter – 11th August 1997

Yesterday, it was Fleur's wedding to Bill. She looked fabulous of course and Bill looked very rugged with his scars, earring and long hair. I overheard many of Fleur's cousins mentioning that they liked the look of him too. The bonding was magnificent, the Delacours had reorganised the garden so that the wedding could take place with the 100+ guests present. The only downside was the wedding reception and the three people I most wanted to avoid being present. It was ugly.

_Flashback_

_I was having a lovely chat with Gabrielle and her older cousin, Jeanette, when I saw the youngest Weasleys whispering furiously in a corner and occasionally pointing at me. Gabrielle saw the dark look that crossed my face and also the reason. She excused herself quickly and went over to Fleur and whispered in her ear. Fleur looked at me and sighed apologetically; I smiled and shook my head at her. I explained to Jeanette what the problem was when she saw my interaction with Gabby and Fleur. She looked mad and started to get some flames licking her fingertips, but I managed to calm her down. _

_She explained to me that Veelas were experts in pure love, which means that love potions do not work on them and they are uniquely monogamous. They can sense impure love such as lust around them, which is why they give off their aura, it pushes the mind of the lusty men back into themselves so that they cannot really converse with them properly. I laughed remembering Ron's reaction to Fleur in fourth year, but also Fleur's reaction to Ron asking her to the ball; that must be why she laughed._

_As I looked around, I could no longer see the terrible two. I invited Jeanette for a dance, she accepted. We chatted whilst we danced and had an interesting conversation._

_"You are in love, but do not yet realise it. Potions inhibited you to realise and now you are growing accustomed to the idea. Yet you are scared of what it means. I am an empathy as well as Veela so I can sense the conflicting emotions in you. It is refreshing to be able to talk to a non-Veela without thinking that they want to get into your knickers, most here would let you into their knickers if you wanted."_

_"I know that seems conflicting to the idea of monogamous Veelas, but that is when they find their life-mate only. Before then, they need a release of their love otherwise they would transform into their bird forms more regularly. It is high emotions that allow for that transformation, not just anger. Love is the greatest emotion, anger and hate are strong, but love sustains the change longer and allows for bigger fireballs."_

_"Thanks, I needed to know that; I often wondered why most men reacted so violently to Veelas and others not so much. You're telling me that the more lustful a man the more likely he is to react to Veelas."_

_"Sort of Harry, the more lustful to women in general, and the more likely he is to disrespectful; of them, so he will react strongly to Veelas."_

_The conversation continued until we went back to table to finish our drinks. Wizarding champagne is fantastic as it retains the taste without the alcohol, meaning that you can't get drunk. According to Marcel, this is more common on the continent than in Britain. As we approached the table, my family ring started to vibrate alerting me of some danger; I looked around but could see nothing of the ordinary except that Ron and Ginny were watching me like hawks. I asked Jeanette if she could check my drink, she waved her wand and it glowed blue for a moment. I knew what it meant; I picked it and went over to Marcel and Francoise, his wife, with Jeanette to explain what I found._

_Needless to say, they were disappointed and at a loss for what to do, they could call the Aurors over and arrest the two and possibly Molly, but they didn't want to interrupt the party. As it turns out, the decision was taken out of their hands when I heard the terrible two scream in agony. Turning around, I saw Fleur, Gabrielle and a few of their cousins throwing fireballs at them; from what I could understand, Fleur, Gabrielle and Bill saw Jeanette test the drink and decided to take matters into their own hands._

_By the time I got there, Ron and Ginny had both had their hair burnt off – looking quite bald – and Gabrielle was cursing them with some Veela hexes. Eventually, I managed to calm them down; Molly was crying loudly in the corner and complaining to Bill about Fleur and her Veela cousins attacking 'poor and innocent' Ron and Ginny. Bill, however, narrowed his eyes at his mother and was about to respond, but I thought I should do it as it concerned me._

_"Molly Weasley, following the attempt to intoxicate me another lust and love potion, I call on the debt between myself and Ginny Weasley and the debt between myself and Ron Weasley. The two of them are to never talk to me again in a social manner for the remainder of their lives; we will need to talk because of classes and quidditch, but outside of formal events, they must never approach me, talk to me or get someone else to talk to me on their behalf. Should they attempt to douse me in love and lust potions again, I will call forth on their magic to be stripped from them so that they may live the rest of their lives as muggles – not squibs – but muggles only. So mote it be."_

_As I finished the demand, Ron, Ginny and I glowed white signifying the acceptance of the demand and that magic will comply. I turned around to face the Delacours leaving three gaping Weasleys behind me._

_"Monsieur and Madame, Delacour, Fleur et Bill Weasley, je m'excuse d'avoir interrompu vos noces. Veuillez accepter mes excuses, je suis prêt a vous restituer selon la tradition."_

_Following my apologies for interrupting the wedding and accepting whatever fine they demand of me, I turned back to the band and signalled for them to continue playing. I cocked an eyebrow at Jeanette, who smiled and accepted my invitation to dance._

_Midway through the dance, Fleur cut in and asked to dance with me, Jeanette acquiesced with a small smile on her face. I sensed some conversation had taken place that I could not understand, but was about to find out._

_"I am sorry Harry about the three of them for doing this to you and you did not need to apologise to us or my parents, but I am honoured you did. I know Jeanette has explained some of the nature of Veelas to you and that has helped me come to a decision. There is no fine for you except to be willing to spend the night with Jeanette. She is doing for three reasons before you complain: she knows that you love someone, my guess it is Hermione, I sensed it all those years ago, but knew something was stopping that connection from forming. Second, she likes you and finds you interesting and handsome and finally, she would like to teach the art of making love so that you may enjoy making love for the first time with your chosen one. I ask you to accept this for me and for Jeanette; she is unlikely to meet another wizard that can block out the Veela power completely, even Bill cannot"_

_"But, but…"_

_"You do not believe me, but it is true. Look around you and look at the other men, they are nearly all staring over here; the reason being that I am at full strength and yet you have not reacted. Allow me let someone teach you the physical pleasures of love that, when accompanied with emotional love, will make you feel complete in the future when you need it most"_

_Harry nodded and sighed, Fleur left him to get a drink while she explained the situation to Jeanette. Jeanette came over to explain her actions to Harry further._

_"Harry, I am not trying to manipulate, really I am not. I know your heart is taken, but let me explain something else to you. I regularly teach the joys of sex and love-making to the younger Veela, it will be like a lesson but with added pleasure. It is of course not selfless, but it is more for you than for me."_

_After discussing this for another 10 minutes, Harry agreed and spent the rest of the evening dancing with Jeanette until the end of the reception. When the time came to go to bed, Harry was nervous; Jeanette took his hand and led him to an empty bedroom and sat him down on the bed. She slowly took off her clothes leaving her naked in front of him._

_"First Harry, I am going to show you all the erogenous zones on a woman and how to get the best out of a woman's body by touch only."_

_She spent the next hour and a half showing Harry where to put his hands, how to touch a woman in order to make her panting and finally how to kiss her to leave her breathless. She then proceeded to undress Harry and took a step back to admire him._

_"Trust me Harry, you will leave women panting for you just by looking at your body, now let me see… ooohh, two hands don't even cover it. This will be delicious!"_

_End of Flashback_

The rest of the night, Harry discovered that there is a paradise on earth and learnt the subtle art of making love. He woke up the next morning sore, but slightly ashamed; he had hoped to save his virginity for that someone special. The vow to accept the fine for disrupting the wedding was stronger though. He remembered Jeanette's words however:

"This is your physical virginity, but save your emotional virginity for the right person and it will blow your mind away"

A.N: NEXT CHAPTER WILL BE THE BUILD UP TO THE TRAIN RIDE TO HOGWARTS. WHAT THE HEXES DO THAT GABRIELLE THREW AT THEM WILL BE REVELAED LATER.

NOT THE BEST OF CHAPTERS, BUT I WANTED SOETHING A LITTLE LIGHT HEARTED AFTER THE TALK OF WAR.


	8. Trains and training seen

Aurors were patrolling the platform ready for the boarding of the Hogwarts Express; everyone knew that Hogwarts was only re-opening because of the return of Harry Potter - the Chosen One. There was a tension around the platform as families said goodbye to loved ones and friends caught up after a summer apart. There was also another tension; the ministry was convinced that the train was going to be attacked because Potter was going to be on the train. Auror Jim Catterridge was aware of these tensions, he was also aware that a goblin battalion was going to be in the last and first carriage of the train during the trip up north. The Minister had agreed some protection with Gringotts for popular magical areas so that Auror forces would not be stretched and they could reply to individual attacks around the country. When asked who was paying for it, he replied 'A friend'. There was plenty of speculation as to who this person was, but only a few knew that it Potter who was responsible for this help. His musings were cut short as a large red-headed family made its way to the train, unusually, they were early - it was only 10.50. The Weasley family had taken a sever bashing this summer, there had been a reporter at the wedding between one of them and the Delacour Veela and some truths had been blurted that day regarding love potions on Potter and some other person. Even though the other person hadn't been named, most knew it was the Granger girl, Potter's best friend.

He could overhear the Weasley discussing ways to get back into Potter's good graces; he snorted to himself. Good luck with that, the oaths had been worded in such a way that Potter would have to initiate contact with them and that wasn't going to happen in a month of Sundays. _Speaking of the devil, where is Potter, he should be here being Head Boy and all._ As if by chance, he saw Potter arrive, but it wasn't the Potter that most people would have expected to see. Why couldn't he be at Hogwarts this year? Potter's looks are going to attract so much attention that it might be fun to see people make fools out of themselves in front of him.

Ginny saw him first and she couldn't help herself from drooling. Harry was beautiful; there was no other word for it. He had a tan, he no longer needed glasses, he had exercised for sure (the muscles were a giveaway), his clothes fit him and finally, his magic was there, you could feel it simmering waiting to be released. Ron saw him next and narrowed his eyes. _Bloody Potter making himself even more noticeable, the ponce. Look at him; he's like Malfoy now flaunting his wealth. He'd better not try anything with Hermione, she's mine. Mummy says so._ Molly noticed him as well and his appearance convinced her to make sure that Ginny got her man so that he could share his wealth with his family.

Harry walked through the portal and straight away he could feel the stares on him as he made his way to the train. His passive legilimency also picked up the thoughts of three people he had rather hoped to never see again, however, he ignored it all and made his way to the Head Boy and Girl's carriage. He knew that people's reactions were going to vary when they see him, he just hoped that they would accept it and remain the same; speaking of which he could hear some familiar voices ahead so decided to see how they would react. He slowed down as he heard the conversation taking place, it was about Hermione.

"I mean seriously, have you seen her? She's seriously fit now."

"I know, I wonder if she has any tan lines. I bet she hasn't got any, you know what they say about brainy types. They're the best shags."

"The boys from Ravenclaw are making bets on who the first person to bag her will be, they reckon that she'll only go out with them as only they'll be able to maintain an intelligent conversation with her."

"I don't know, I mean, look who her best friend is and what she has done with him. He's not clever enough to maintain a conversation of the Ravenclaw type with her, but she keeps them around. Also being friends with Harry will help as it shows you're not into the The Harry Potter thing, but that you can look past surfaces."

"..."

"Wow that has to be the most profound thing you have said about girls Seamus."

Harry decided to step in now, he had heard enough about his best friend. He stepped into view to the horror and surprise of Dean, Seamus and Neville.

"Hi Guys!"

"..."

"Did you have a good summer guys?"

"..."

"Well mine was better than before as you can tell probably. I found some friends, family and decided to become me."

"..."

"Well, since you can't talk, I'll take my leave of you. Cheerio."

With that, Harry turned and walked off with a glint in his eye and a smirk on his face towards Hermione. He left behind some shell-shocked teenagers - Seamus summed it up.

"Holy Jesus, he's changed a bit hasn't he?"

Harry walked away knowing that he'd shocked his dorm mates, he made his way to the Head carriage greeting people every so often. People were startled by his appearance; the boys looked on in awe, whilst most of the girls started to determine how to get into his pants. Finally, he got to the carriage, but stopped before he opened the door as he heard shouting coming from inside.

"Ron, will you please piss off, I know what potions you gave me, I know that you gave harry potions as did Ginny so right now I am struggling not to hit you or hex you. So, once again, get the hell out of here!"

"Come on Herms..."

"Don't call me that name Weasley!!!"

"...you've got to admit that you fancied me for a while, so why can't we try to see how it would work out. I mean I'm your best friend, I know better than anyone, you know me too, and we would be perfect together. Come on, let's give it a go!"

"Ronald Weasley! I have never fancied you at all, I would never go out with you, you are uncouth, slobby, lazy, stupid and not even handsome. You look like a carrot top, your hair is always dirty, you wash only every other day, you smell, and you only like me so that you can copy my homework. Moreover, I am only your friend because of Harry, Harry is my best friend, he doesn't copy off me, I allow him to copy sometimes, he doesn't argue with me all the time, we may not always agree on everything, but we talk it out and come to an agreement. Last year was purely influenced by the potions. If there hadn't been any, we might have been able to save Dumbledore - think of that. Now, once again, get the hell out of here!"

"It's Potter again isn't it, he gets everything: money, fame and the girl! Well, let me give you a few home truths: you're a bookworm, boring..."

He never got to finish his sentence as Harry blasted the door of its hinges; ironically, it landed straight on Ron and knocked him out pushing him into the wall head first. Harry didn't even spare him a glance; he went over to Hermione and hugged the stuffing out of her.

"Don't listen to him Hermione. You're my best friend, I love spending time with you, you're fun, and I enjoy talking to you. You're beautiful; you've always been beautiful to me. Please don't listen to him."

Hermione listened to the rest of the kind words Harry had for her and felt her heart get lighter. Harry always knew what to say to make her feel better. She still couldn't believe the arrangements he made for her this summer with her parents. Her parents were safe, she got to spend so much time with them and now they're pregnant again. She tightened her grip on him and thought about what he said and decided to take what could be either big step forward or a giant leap backwards. She disengaged herself slightly and looked up at Harry; she saw a swirl of emotions in those mesmerising green eyes including love, pain and tenderness. She reached up on tip toes and kissed Harry on the lips for a few seconds. She felt him stiffen for a moment, before he raised his arms to her face and deepened the kiss.

Harry couldn't believe, tentatively, he stroked her lips with his tongue and was granted access to a smooth tongue that stroked his in return. Hermione lifted her arms to his neck and held him close. Eventually, the need for air became too much and they separated, but rested their foreheads against one another. Harry's mind was in a whirlwind and said the first thing that came to his mind.

"I Love you Hermione."

Hermione gasped and tears came to her eyes as she closed the gap between their lips to convey without words her own feelings of love. Her thoughts flashed back to a conversation she had with her mum.

_Flashback_

_"Hermione, can I have a word with you?"_

_Hermione looked up at her mum and nodded._

_"Hermione, why did Harry do all this for us? I mean we're so grateful that he's done this. He's given us a safe location, a holiday home, spending money and more time with you. This isn't what some best friend does for you. What exactly do you mean to him and what does he mean to you?"_

_Wordlessly, Hermione hands over the letter that Harry gave her earlier. She watched as the emotions played across her mum's face. Tears started to fall as she finished the letter, her mum stood up and went over to sit next to Hermione and hugged her. When the tears were finished, she just whispered._

_"He loves you." A nod from her daughter. "You love him." Another nod. "He's a scared little boy despite being the all-powerful wizard; you need to make the first step with him. DO it quickly. Love him and let him love you. He'll do anything to keep you and he has already started hasn't he?" A last nod._

_End of Flashback_

She pulled away and whispered in Harry's ear.

"I love you too Harry, so very much."

He tightened his hold on her and they stayed that way until they felt the train moving. Startled out of their thoughts, they noticed Ron was still unconscious on the floor. Hermione flicked her wand to heal him and then levitated him out of the compartment into the toilet. She went back into the carriage and got ready for the prefects' meeting, Harry and she didn't need to talk as they knew what the other meant to the other. They decided to sit next to each other waiting for the meeting to start. Eventually, the other prefects started trickling in until all were there. The meeting went smoothly enough with minimal interference from the Slytherin prefects who were Blaise Zabini and Daphne Greengrass for the seventh years. It was known that these two were betrothed to one another and both were neutral houses with plenty of involvement with muggle businesses. Harry was pleased these two were the prefects as it meant that they control the house a little more especially with Gran as Head of House.

After the prefects' meeting, Harry and Hermione sat down together and read their books. Hermione was reading up on her Arithmancy, whilst Harry was reading fiction - Jane Eyre. About two hours in the trip the train started to slow down, Hermione was asleep, but not Harry. He looked out of the window and saw some specks off in the distance. Getting up, he ran to the rear compartment where the goblins were. Without knocking he rushed in.

"Warriors, Death Eaters approaching from the east. Orders are as follows: two goblins per compartment to defend the students, the others will go on the roof to defend and keep a look out. I will go and defend the train. Understood?"

With a nod from the Goblins, Harry stood up and made his way to the driver's car, there, he saw a black-robed individual controlling the train. With a quick curse, the death eater was stunned and Harry dropped a portkey on him to whisk him to the Hogwarts dungeons where he would be held for questioning. He transformed himself into his Griffin shape and flew off to start the fight. Meanwhile, Hermione woke up to an empty carriage apart from a goblin that was obviously dressed for battle. He reassured her that he was here for protection on Lord Potter's orders, when she asked where Harry was, the goblin pointed outside. Hermione looked and saw a blur charge towards what was about 30 death eaters flying on broomsticks. The blur streaked at incredible speed between them evading the spells. After 10 seconds, about 10 death eaters had fallen off their brooms to their deaths from 100 feet up; the others had landed and were running to the train when they suddenly had to dive for cover as spells came from the top of the train. Obviously other Goblins were there; the Griffin landed behind the other death eaters and transformed into... HARRY!!! What the hell?

The students were at the windows watching Harry potter land behind the death eaters, he had obviously been spotted as half of them had turned around and started firing spells at him. A Staff suddenly appeared in Harry's hand and with a twirl a green shield appeared that reflected the spells at them. Using the distraction of the death eaters diving for cover, Harry knelt down and touched the ground beneath him, everyone stopped fighting as the ground beneath them started to shake when a wave of earth suddenly appeared behind the death eaters coming from Harry and buried the death eaters beneath tons of earth. Following that, there was an eerie silence; Harry ran forward to the mound of earth where the death eaters were buried alive. Harry concentrated and the mound started to get smaller and smaller. It was obvious to those watching what was happening. He was burying them and crushing them beneath tonnes of earth. They never had a chance.

The Goblins inspected the carriages making sure that no fighting had broken out between the students and upon finding none, they returned to their carriage. Kingsley and Tonks turned up suddenly and saw Harry walking towards the train. Hermione rushed and embraced Harry fiercely, she then stepped back and smacked across the chest and started berating him for going out there. He just smiled and whispered something that made her stop and hug him again. Tonks went to the driver's cab and got the Express started again to finish the journey to Hogwarts. Back in the train, people were asking harry what he had done, how could he kill those people and finally was that a staff? He silenced them by raising his hand and explained his actions very clearly in a chilling voice.

"Thos people were death eaters; they kill, rape, maim and torture anyone against them. They are the minions of Voldemort, take them away and his defences disappear. Let's make one thing clear; they are just average wizards that live off the confusion and panic that they create. They only inspire fear because people are afraid to fight back, but I will and I will make sure that they can never do the same again. For every death eater caught alive, I will strip them of their magic and make them muggles, not squibs, but muggles. I will obliviate them and dump them in the muggle world. I have the authorisation from the ministry to do it and believe me I will. Think about, 10 death eaters turn up in Diagon Alley which has nearly 100 adults, yet no-one fights back. Why? They are just bullies, hit back and they become afraid; they know that fear is their biggest weapon and they make the most of it. Fight back with everything you have, never give because they will first, which is why they only attack in groups."

That said, Harry grabbed Hermione's hand and turned back to the head's carriage. The discussion for the remainder of the trip was split between the girls and the boys - the girls noticed Harry grabbing Hermione's hand, whilst the boys discussed the truth of Harry's statement.

**A.N: SORRY FOR THE DELAY, BUT THINGS HAVE BEEN HECTIC, I WILL NOW TRY TO PUT UP AT LEAST A CHAPTER A WEEK BY EVERY FRIDAY.**

**Thanks for all the great reviews from everyone, I hope that this chapter pleases those who wanted Harry and Hermione to kiss and those who wanted to see what else Harry has been doing in training.**


	9. Sad and grave author's notes

Dear readers and reviewers,

The writer of this story, my cousin Julien, is no longer able to continue this story as his leukemia has taken a turn for the worse - the bone marrow transplant was rejected. He is very weak and has asked me to take over as author. I would love to, but I do not like the direction this fiction is taking and he knows this. He has allowed me to rewrite this story from the end of third year with Sirius being freed. I understand that not everyone will be happy with this, but I would be grateful if you could reserve judgement until the first chapter is uploaded.

Thanks to all those that reviewed, read and corresponded with Julien; he thanks you all. He was astounded by the amount of reads the story got and was very pleased so many enjoyed it. He refused to listen to other people's advice (but he appreciated it) because he knew he wasn't going to finish the story himself and wanted to do it his way. I'm glad he did, he will help me with ideas so you will see some similarities with the original story.

Thanks and hope to see some familiar names as reviewers.

Manuel

PS. Harry will be paired with Hermione, Goblins, Flamels etc... will all be present


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